Re: The Oil Thread (cooking, not engine) Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO Guys, simple question = what oil to use for cooking at home?
It seems, after sugar, refined oil is the next bad thing for your health. But haven't been able to get a clear answer, so thought of asking on my favourite community ![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png) . Which is the best / most healthy / least evil oil to use for cooking at home? Cooking consists of typical Indian meals. Which should be my kitchen's Mobil 1 ![Big Grin](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.png) ?
Someone told me olive oil is good, but this post and some other ones say otherwise.
Thanks! |
GTO,
When it comes to cooking oils, its best to trust what our parents/grand parents consumed. I would explain you why.
In the north and east part of India (and perhaps in the western part as well), traditionally, Mustard oil was used, along with Ghee and small amounts of butter (home made butter and not commercial butter).
Similarly, in the southern and middle part of India, the more prominent oils were Til (sesame seed) oil, and most importantly - Coconut oil.
Note that all these oils were unprocessed or minimally processed. The Coconut oil consumed mainly in south India was prepared using traditional methods (using Cheku etc.) while in the north the Mustard oil was extracted using Katchi Ghani variety - or in other words - Cold pressed. Similar was the case with Groundnut oil.
Things changed quickly with the advent of multinationals abhorring saturated fats citing some shady medical researches which concluded that saturated fats were bad and were directly linked to heart disease and it was best for our body to consume chemically refined/double refined oils like Soybean/Corn/Sunflower etc. Now its a topic of debate that who funded these medical studies and what was the motive - i am not going to discuss this.
Recent studies have shown that Chemical refinement is the culprit in the oils which cause it to increase its disease causing properties, rather than saturated fats as such. https://www.quora.com/Is-refined-oil-good
Furthermore, the main cause of heart disease which was earlier thought to be linked to Saturated fats, is now increasingly being linked to Inflammation in the body (inflammation inside the body is a different subject than inflammation outside body like that caused by a wound).
Some good study material can be found here: https://food.ndtv.com/opinions/the-c...mption-1908460 https://www.bewell.com/blog/truth-saturated-fat/
So if you ask me about best cooking oils in India, i would rate in the following order (lowest number is best): 1. Ghee or clarified butter made using Cow's milk preferably at home (Surprise !)
2. Virgin cold pressed Coconut Oil
3. Cold pressed Mustard Oil
4. Cold pressed Groundnut and Sesame oil
5. Physically refined Rice bran oil. This is a new entrant on the block but more research and studies are needed to determine its effectiveness and inflammation response in human body.
And the worst ones (lowest number being the worst): 1. Hydrogenated Vegetable oil (also known as Vanaspati Ghee): The most harmful cooking oil one can have, with high amounts of harmful transfats and chemically processed.
2. Refined Soybean/corn/sunflower etc.: Anything just "refined" is chemically refined and known to increase inflammation in the body. Recent awareness on this topic suggests that inflammation is the root cause of many bodily diseases - rather than factors like dietery cholesterol.
You may wonder why did i omit Olive oil. Its simply because olive oil in its best form (Extra virgin cold pressed) is not at all suitable for Indian cooking due to its low smoke point. At best, it can be used for salad dressing. In itself its a good oil.
Last edited by DCEite : 1st October 2018 at 18:05.
|